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Apple’s chief design guru Jony Ive — whom Steve Jobs called his “spiritual partner” — will now control the software that goes into his designs.

Ive is taking full leadership of the team that designs Apple’s iOS software, which powers his iconic-look iPhones and iPads.

The move comes as Apple’s software chief, Greg Christie, unexpectedly announced his retirement.

CEO Tim Cook has turned to Ive to set the overall design aesthetic for products, from the shape of the iPhone’s hardware to the look of screen icons.

Ive’s first major influence on Apple’s software was last year’s introduction of iOS 7, which featured brighter colors and eliminated many of the realistic designs for applications such as wooden bookshelves and leather-bound contact books.

Christie “has been planning to retire later this year after nearly 20 years at Apple,” the Cupertino, Calif.-based company said in a statement Thursday.

“He has made vital contributions to Apple products across the board, and built a world-class Human Interface team which has worked closely with Jony for many years,” the company said.

Christie, whose name is on several iPhone patents, testified last week in the company’s current trial against Samsung Electronics.